Category Archive: Schism! Controversial Subjects

Nov
17

For Vikings Fans, the Heart-Break Starts Early

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November 17, 2011

If you’ve been a Vikings fan for longer than 10 minutes, there’s no way you aren’t going to empathize with this little girl. I started watching the Vikings when I was around her age and when I think about all the heartache she has in front of her, it almost makes me want to tell her to save herself and choose another team before it’s too late. And then I remember how awesome purple and gold look together and how cool all the Vikings paraphernalia is and I think, “Hell, it’s not so bad…”

I think, in just 49 seconds, this little girl outwardly shows what every Vikings fan has been doing inside for the last 2 seasons.

 

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Nov
14

Vikings vs Packers (Game 2): A Post Game Rant

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November 14, 2011

Jared only managed to do this once tonight.

Wow. This team totally sucks. The coaching staff is pathetic. I’m so angry you may have noticed I jumped right into my commentary. Yeah. I’m that mad.

For the last 2 weeks I have been looking forward to this game. The Packers have the 31st worst defense against the pass. We had started to have a passing game. The Packers do not look invincible. They have gaps. I thought that Leslie Frazier and Bill Musgrave were spending the last 2 weeks planning for this game. I assumed they were watching film and putting together a comprehensive plan based on 8 games of Packers film. If I were on the coaching staff in either of their positions, that is what I would be doing.

I thought that the Vikings players would take a break and come back focused and ready to play one of the Vikings’ divisional rivals on Monday Night Football. I assumed that those players had pride in their craft and that they would not want to be embarrassed yet again on the national stage.

Well, I was wrong. About all of it.

You can see more of this on my blog than on the actual field.

The Good

The post game pressers were brief. Not much to say when your team was handed their collective ascot on a platter by some crappy small town team from the frozen tundra sporting the most god-awful combination of colors known to mankind.

ARodg was face planted twice. And frankly, with that Puker o-line of extra fat Michelin Men, that’s really not that good. Hi, Brian Robison – where have you been?

And that’s the end of the good. Note that I was generous to even put anything under “good” after this travesty. Especially with just 2 sacks on ARodg. Pathetic!

Note again that I had to dig deep into the pressers to even come up with a enough words to border the picture of ARodg getting sacked there to the right.

Yeah - we're not masters of any half anymore. (Photo: Brian Peterson, Star Tribune)

The Bad

Being a Vikings fan. This team makes it hard to have any sense of excitement or optimism year after year. The team has been woefully mismanaged and poorly coached since Bud Grant retired. It’s a miracle that the team has gotten to the NFC Championship Game at all since Bud left. Please note that if these players actually TRIED week in and week out, it wouldn’t be so hard to support them. But when you look at tonight’s game with Cedric Griffin whiffing on tackles because he’s mentally done with this game and Asher Allen getting burned… and Chad Greenway missing tackles… these mistakes are 100% effort and focus related.

Fred Evans. Every time he’s on the field he draws a penalty. Typically for being offsides. Guess what Fred: I want you off my team. Forever. Get the hell out of dodge dude.

Ponder’s 3rd down conversion rate. For those of you who, on Twitter, praised Ponder’s performance… his 3rd down conversion rate equaled Donovan McNabb’s average. His completion rate was under 50%.

Chris Kluwe’s punting. Yeah – he was out-performed by Masthay.  Ryan Longwell’s place kicking. I’m starting to think his leg is too old and he needs to retire. He’s been missing a lot of field goals lately.

Can't get your players motivated? Hey, ho, time to go!

The Ugly

10 penalties for 80 yards! The mental errors of amateurs.

Pretty much everything else. This team was so pathetic that Rodgers (in 50% of the last 4 games with these dodos) sat to watch Matt Flynn (who’s a hell of a QB in his own right) finish us off. Well isn’t that just grand. Nothing like going to work tomorrow to look the two Packer fans that work for me in the eye as we say good morning and they smirk. I can’t wait. Thanks a lot Vikings!

Let’s be clear on one thing: Leslie Frazier needs to be Les Steckeled. One and done. And he never should have had one year as head coach. He could have fixed this team. Back in September I wrote this post where I delineated what needed to be done. I hypothesized that Frazier didn’t have the guts to do it. And I was right.

The question is now: Will the Wilfs have the guts to do what needs to be done with Frazier & the rest of the offensive coaching staff? They all need to be fired and replaced with a new regime. And I wouldn’t wait either. Start making calls Zygi & Mark. Line up a replacement coach and bring him (or her, if they want to hire me!) in and let him establish the new offensive coaching staff and take the rest of the year to get some chemistry going. Bring in a general manager – hell, move Leslie Frazier to personnel if you want to keep him involved as I do think he has talent there – and let that person manage and let the coaches coach.

I watched this whole game from painful start to pathetic finish. I will watch the rest of the games this year and think about what might have been if Ponder had started from week one and if the Wilfs had hired a proven coach last season. Not that considering those possibilities will change anything… but I can pretend we had a totally different season in my head.

I am angry as hell at the entire team, the coaches & the owners right now, but I will never cheer for another team.

Skol Vikings Nation. I’m going to bed.

 

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Oct
29

Leslie Frazier: Silent Waters Might Run Deeper Than We Think

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October 29, 2011

Frazier's Head Coaching Approach... I'm Watching Him!

I’ve been critical of Leslie Frazier since he became the interim coach of the Vikings. I said repeatedly last year that he shouldn’t be offered the full-time head coaching position. I’ve not held back on my criticism of him this season, either.

I’m not reversing my opinion on Frazier. I think he’s over-matched by a head coaching gig. I think he was foolish to support McNabb as long as he did. Of course, I think he was foolish to lobby to bring McNabb onto the team in the first place (handing over draft picks for an obviously washed up QB?) – although I can partially understand the logic of doing so with the shortened off-season.

I think it was misguided to restructure Berrian’s contract in the off-season when clearly his attitude was bad and his production was worse as his tenure increased with the team. Frazier still has almost no perceptible ability to adjust during half-time. I could go on and on about the deficiencies we have in the head coaching position. However, what I want to do with this post is talk about how I see some changes in Frazier’s approach that I like. These recent decisions make sense to me:

Bernard Berrian. Former Viking.

1) Benching Berrian the first time. When Berrian couldn’t be bothered to show up to team meetings the night before a game, Frazier benched him. Absolutely the right decision. As a leader, you cannot allow people to usurp your authority. Frazier showing Berrian that he was going to be held accountable is exactly what needed to occur.

2) Benching McNabb in Chicago and staying the course. Frazier watched Donovan struggle week after week. Reports emerged that McNugget wasn’t putting in the time necessary to be successful. I believe we all saw evidence of that on the field, no matter how much McNabb and Frazier denied the stories. Frazier had finally seen enough as the Bears completely embarrassed the Vikings on national TV. After the game, Frazier, despite his loyalty to McNabb, stayed true to his decision and started Ponder against the Packers.

3) Benching Berrian a second time. I don’t believe any of us know what the last straw was right before the Green Bay game but surely that’s when “it” occurred. It was enough for Frazier to strike through Berrian’s name on the Active Roster and no one can say that Berrian was missed during the game.

Cook: Cut him loose, Frazier! (Photo: Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

4) Finally cutting Berrian last Tuesday. I’m not aware of anyone who thought this wasn’t a stupendous move. Well – probably Berrian doesn’t like the move, but who cares?

Berrian is still a “free agent”. It’s interesting to see that no other NFL teams are interested in the fashion guru and Tweeter extraordinaire. He made it right through waivers after the release. Well – good riddance to him!

5) Indefinitely suspending Chris Cook after he was arrested for felony assault by strangulation. The Vikings lead the league… in ARRESTS since 2000. That’s deplorable and I’m glad to see Frazier taking a hard line on this type of thing. The next decision I expect to see here is cutting Chris Cook from the squad, which will hopefully herald the demise of his career. Yeah – for you people who keep wanting to wait for Cook to make it through the criminal justice system – innocent until proven guilty, etc… let’s just admit that it’s highly unlikely that Cook’s girlfriend choked herself until she had petechiae (hemorrhaging) in her eye. I see no need to wait for the trial. He’s been formally charged and we’ve all read the police reports. He’s guilty and his side is indefensible.

All of the above has me watching Frazier carefully. I’m always willing to change my opinion if evidence is presented that supports a different conclusion. Certainly there is still the glaring 1-6 record we currently sit with that doesn’t do Frazier any favors. Right now what I see is that Frazier might make a heck of a GM dealing with personnel.

For me to completely reverse my opinion on Frazier, he needs to do the following things:

McNabb Can't Stop Talking. Time for him to go!

1) Start Winning!

2) Cut Chris Cook. Much sooner rather than later.

3) Bench Kevin Williams next time he makes noise in the media about Frazier & calling out the defense for lack of effort. Maybe Frazier addressed the first episode behind the scenes but I thought Williams should have been benched for his lack of class.

4) Cut McNabb. McNabb is all over the place right now, talking about how he should still be the starter. Well ya know what, McNugget: you suck. You’re done. Sit down and be quiet. Frazier needs to  cut him from  the team. He’s clearly becoming a cancer in the locker room.

4) Start showing some “go for the kill” attitude. Frazier is too cautious. Slow and steady rarely wins the race in the NFL.

Let’s watch the next 9 games and see what happens!

Vikings vs Panthers tomorrow, Purple Nation! Skol!

 

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Oct
10

Bernard Berrian: Time to Go Bucko

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October 10, 2011

Berrian likes the life-style, but doesn't want to actually "work" for it.

Ah, what a crazy week for #87 on the Vikings roster.

Bernard Berrian addressed the media after last week’s Twitter War. He spoke about his twitter war with a state representative – who supports the new stadium, by the way – and even co-authored the bill.

He compounded the problem by insisting that his performance has been perfect – not lackluster and lazy. But, as it turns out, in his own mind he thinks like this: Bernard Berrian: It’s not really his fault. Any of it.

According to Berrian, he has been open for the last 4 years. 5 different professional starting QBs – mostly veterans, by the way – had issues getting him the ball. (Frerotte,T-Jack, Favre, Webb, McNabb). Yep. Their fault – not Berrian’s. Heck, even the limited action seen by Kelly Holcomb & Brooks Bollinger – again, Berrian was wide open waiting for a perfectly lobbed ball to come his way, and these gentlemen just couldn’t get the job done.

The Twitterverse exploded with news of Berrian’s benching prior to today’s game. I noticed that many of the people I followed expressed delight & glee at the news. I don’t recall seeing anyone who was saddened by it. Naturally, the speculation was that Berrian was being reprimanded for his less than pleasing attitude on his social media interactions.

I saw a Tweet from @VikingsNow (Pioneer Press) stating that the reason for the benching was that Berrian actually missed 2 team meetings at the hotel on Saturday. As everyone knows, those are not optional.

It shouldn’t be news to Frazier that Berrian is worthless. Let’s look at his stats:

Year Team

Games

# Recs

Yards

Ave

YPG
2011 Vikings

4

2

37

18.5

9.2
2010 Vikings

14

28

252

9

18
2009 Vikings

16

55

618

11.2

38.6
2008 Vikings

16

48

964

20.1

60.2
2007 Bears

16

71

951

13.4

59.4
2006 Bears

15

51

775

15.2

51.7
2005 Bears

11

13

246

18.9

22.4
2004 Bears

16

15

225

15

14.1

So what do these tell us? Berrian worked hard just prior to becoming a free agent to set himself up for a pay day and then worked hard enough to put it in some people’s minds that he was worth something to the team, when clearly he is not.

Remember when Berrian inferred that Favre didn’t like him and that’s why his 2010 season was so sub-par? Take a look at his stats: he had his 2nd highest number of receptions with Favre! Can’t have it both ways, Bernie!

It’s time for the Vikings to cut Bernard Berrian from the team – and learn from their mistake. All Frazier has to do is look at the numbers – they don’t lie.

 

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Oct
05

So – I’m Momentarily Famous

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October 5, 2011

Imagine my surprise this evening. Ok – wait. I was surprised twice, actually. First I was surprised – and saddened – to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs. Like any good dooby of the technology age, I immediately sent a RIP Steve Jobs into cyberspace on Twitter and Facebook, and texted a couple of my friends that were likely not paying attention to the news to ensure they knew about the loss of Apple’s visionary CEO (both having iPhones…).

The second time I was surprised was when I read Michael Oher’s tweet regarding Steve Jobs. Apparently he was blindsided by the news (yes – pun totally intended) of Steve Jobs’ passing – but not because Steve Jobs was no longer on the planet, but rather because he couldn’t understand why people were making a big deal about it because he literally didn’t know who Steve Jobs was.

Naturally I retweeted his Tweet – because, frankly, the fact that he was tweeting from a Twitter application for the iPhone (yes, friends, I do not lie) was too ironic to pass up. What I got for my troubles was the following image on DeadSpin. Thanks to @theVikingPig for pointing this out to me!

VikesPrinces: Oh yeah - famous for 10 maybe 15 seconds!

You know what really gets me about this? Michael Oher wasn’t the only football player who sent a tweet saying he didn’t know who Steve Jobs was. Our own Jamarca Sanford was equally as clueless.

I’m here to tell these football players that nothing they will ever do in their careers will ever match the launch of the iPod, let alone the iMac, the iPhone and the iPad. They will never change the world and they will never impact as many people as he did. How can they possibly be so unaware of American culture & life that they would not know who Steve Jobs is? And yes, that’s meant to be a rhetorical question.

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Sep
26

If I Were Leslie Frazier…

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September 26, 2011

Righting the Vikings' Longboat

After yesterday’s game, I thought a lot about what needs to happen to right the Vikings’ longboat. I wondered what I would do if I were Leslie Frazier, leading a team that was 0-3 after systematically handing over half-time leads in a town where the team was trying to make a case for a stadium – all while my job was literally on the line.

This post is where I netted out.

Offense – By Position

QB: Bench Donovan McNabb, run both Ponder and Webb packages – mix it up, keep opposing defenses off balance.

C: No change.

RB: No change – other than I would stop the predictability of run-run-oh-no-we-need-to-pass-on-third-down to something less predictable. In yesterday’s game, AD had 35% of the touches in the 1st half and a little over 30% of the touches during the second half. Frazier should level load that after reducing the predictability.

TE: Increase utilization of Shiancoe with Rudolph as back up.

LT: Make Demarcus Love and Charlie Johnson compete for the LT job – meanwhile, look for other options.

RT: Put Phil Loadholt on notice that he’ll need to compete for his position if he doesn’t start solving for being run over in inopportune moments.

OGs: No change – but these gentlemen (Hutchinson, Herrera) have no one listed on the depth chart as a 2nd string. Given that both of these players have had injuries in the last few years, is anyone else concerned besides me? Chris DeGeare is on the practice squad – but what if one of these guys goes down during a game?

WRs: Cut Bernard Berrian. Today. Do not engage Randy Moss. Do not engage Terrell Owens. Put Devin Aromashodu in the WR2 spot, promote Emmanuel Arceneaux from the practice squad (despite his annoying Tweets) and let ‘er ride. ANYTHING is better than watching Berrian drop ball after ball. Allowing that level of mediocrity to continue to get the start sends the wrong message to the team. USE Percy Harvin. Buy the kjd some Pepto Bismol and get him on the field. He’s the starting WR1. Let’s start acting like it, Musgrave.

Defense – By Position

Jared and B-Rob take down Stafford.

DE:   :: blowing kisses :: (see – I can get away with this where men cannot). NO change to our delicious defensive ends. Jared and Brian are fantastic.

DT: Minimize play time for Letroy Guion and Fred Evans. Any pro that can be duped 3 times in a row on a hard count belongs on the practice squad. Christian Ballard is the better option.

Will/Mike/Sam: Chad Greenway isn’t leading the team in tackles – yet – but he’ll get there. The Henderson brothers are holding their own. EJ seems to tire in the 2nd half if they’re on the field too long. I’m wondering if there are lingering effects of his broken leg. No change.

CBs: Cut Asher Allen. Promote Marcus Sherels from 3rd string to 2nd string. Find a CB as insurance since Cook seems injury prone – and we know Cedric has knees that have been surgically repaired. If Cook or Griffin miss tackles/coverage – bench them and put in Sherels and Burton. They might not be better – but you know Sherels will play his heart out and those veterans will soon know that blown coverage and missed tackles will not be tolerated.

SS: Cut Tyrell Johnson. Look for a secondary journeyman that can play safety or CB to give us additional depth. Let Frampton earn additional field time outside of special teams.

 

Will Frazier do what needs to be done?

Coaching:

1. Put Musgrave on notice. Give him 2 games to prove the Vikings can successfully score in the 2nd half. Interview new OC people while Musgrave proves he can do it. If he can’t, fire him.

2. Stop talking about “figuring things out” and actually do it. Along these lines – stop talking about “finding a sense of urgency” – give people one. Make the hard decisions, bench non-producers. Cut those players who consistently under perform and show no concern about having done so. Yeah – BERNARD – I have YOU in mind right there.

3. Stop feeding the fanbase a load of crap during pressers. Your team sucks. SAY IT. Your coaching has been pathetic. SAY IT. Follow up those acknowledgments with your plans to mitigate that.

4. Go big or go home. Greatness never triumphs when someone is taking baby steps. That only ever worked in the movie “What About Bob?”

That’s what I would do to right the Vikings’ 2011 season. Agree with me? Disagree? Leave a comment and let’s discuss.

 

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Aug
21

Wondrous or Ponderous?

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August 21, 2011

The Vikings drafted Christian Ponder during the first round of this year’s draft. I didn’t know much about him at the time, but I’ve had several guys at work give me the scoop from his college days. The consensus is that when Christian Ponder is “on”, he’s on. When he’s not on, he’s totally off.

Ponder Joining the Vikings

I have to tell you that I haven’t been impressed with Ponder to date. Yeah – I know it’s game #2 of the preseason and my expectations should be calibrated accordingly… but I have not moved from my original reaction to the Vikings selecting him in the 1st round, which was: WTF?

Sure, we heard great things about him in the off-season (aka Babies R Us Lock Out Season).

He grabbed the play book as soon as he could… He was busy committing the plays to memory. He hosted a non-league sanctioned practice in Florida – to which the Vikings veterans could not be bothered to travel, of course. I’m not saying the kid isn’t trying.

But really – what have we seen so far? Being the football dork I am, I DVR all the games and watch them twice. What can I say? There’s just something about watching my team running around on the field that makes me happy. Well, to be honest, it wasn’t very fun to watch last year’s games twice, but we’ll set that aside for now.

Ponder is inconsistent. Moments of brilliance with moments of deer in the headlights. He aired it out twice last night and overthrew both receivers. He’s frenetic in the pocket… dancing around with happy feet until he bolts to the sides where he seems to be more comfortable.

I don’t want to sound alarmist – but is this a guy that should be our franchise QB of the future? For me, the jury is out yet, as it should be. But I’m not sure this guy has what it takes to lead this team to where we need to go: first, the top of the NFC North, then NFC Champions and finally – our long-anticipated Super Bowl victory. What do you think?

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Aug
21

Favre Sighting in Green Bay?

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August 21, 2011

ProFootballTalk is reporting that a fake Brett Favre has been sighted signing autographs in the fine city of Green Bay.

Brett in the RIGHT colors.

Imagine my glee upon reading this report. To envision a bunch of drunk Packer fans vying for the attention of a fake Brett Favre just makes me laugh. As if he would waste his time going back there unannounced? How delusional are these people?

It’s as if those cheddar wedges they love to sport on their heads has cut off the oxygen, causing brain cell death. Keep on rocking Green Bay!

This report, plus a Vikings win, has ensured that I have a fabulous weekend!

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Jan
22

The Packers Are Headed to… Chicaco.

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January 22, 2011

Well done, Green Bay Press-Gazette! I don’t know who your editor is, but s/he deserves a raise! The headline in the photo below is priceless…. The Green Bay Press-Gazette announces that the Packers are going to Chicaco!

Um... WHERE are the Packers headed? Chicaco? Rock on!

Kinda makes you wonder what else will go wrong for the Packers and their fans this weekend. If you’re like me, and if you’re on my blog, I assume you are like me… you’re hoping for a triumphant Bears team to emerge the victor… only to have their hopes & dreams crushed in the Super Bowl. So… BEAR DOWN tomorrow and DOWN with the BEARS in 2 weeks! Skol!

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